Information regarding the business sector
Magazine Luiza’s e-commerce sales skyrocketed 72.6% in the first quarter of 2020, compared to a year earlier, but failed to overcome the negative effects of closing stores due to the coronavirus. The retailer, accustomed to accumulating profits on each balance sheet, presented an adjusted net loss of R$ 8 million ($ 1.45 million).
The health services administrator Hapvida saw a strong increase in revenues in the first quarter, but its profit fell in the annual comparison, with the impact of financial expenses and provisions for reimbursement to SUS. The company announced that it had net income of R$ 164.6 million ($ 30 million) from January to March, down 19.9% in comparison with the same stage of 2019.
Unidas’ recurring net income ended the quarter with a 3.6% decrease, totalling R$ 79.6 million ($ 14 million). According to the financial result released by the company, in the same quarter of 2019, the amount was R$ 82.5 million ($ 15 million). The company’s net revenue totalled R$ 1.2 billion ($ 218 million) in the first three months of the year and recorded an increase of 17.9%.
BTG Pactual projects a 34% drop in the profit of Brazilian companies in 2020, compared to the previous forecast, released in October, of 20% growth. For 2021, the expectation is for an expansion of 57%. The estimate does not consider Petrobras and Vale.
S&P Global Ratings downgraded Azul Linhas Aéreas’ credit rating on a global scale from “B” to “CCC +”, with a negative rating outlook. S&P believes that Brazilian airlines should face a contraction in demand of around 50% in 2020, causing Azul to maintain about 40% of its fleet on land until the end of the year.
Marfrig Global Foods more than doubled its operating results in the first quarter, advancing sales of beef to markets beyond China, a country strongly affected by the coronavirus in the period. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) reached R$1.2 billion ($ 219 billion) in the period, a jump of 109% in the annual comparison.
The fashion retailer Lojas Renner reported on Monday that it won a lawsuit in the Federal Court linked to the exclusion of ICMS from the PIS and Cofins calculation base. With the final judgment on Monday, the company stated that it had recognized the right to recover amounts determined between November 2001 and February 2017, totalling R$ 1.357 billion ($ 247 million).
B3 reported on Monday that the court had refused a request to annul a fine imposed by the IRS, in a lawsuit of about R$ 1.3 billion ($ 237 million). The case refers to the amortisation of the goodwill generated, for tax purposes, by the incorporation of Bovespa by BM&F in 2008 and 2009.
São Paulo announced the signing of a concession contract between the São Paulo State Transport Agency (Artesp) and the Eixo SP concessionaire to operate the PiPa Lot (between Piracicaba and Panorama). With the signing of the contract, Eixo SP takes the largest road network ever tendered in Brazil, with 1,273 kilometres, for a period of 30 years. The winning consortium, under the leadership of Banco Pátria, will make an investment of R$ 14 billion ($ 2.6 billion).
Previ, a pension fund for Banco do Brasil, had a deficit of R$ 23.6 billion ($ 4.3 billion) in the first quarter of 2020. The negative result of 12.39% reflects the crisis generated in the markets by the coronavirus, classified by the institution as ” the biggest crisis of the last century “. The foundation points out that the segment most impacted in the period from January to March was variable income, with a decrease of 26%.
